Chain winding or unwinding device



No. 6I5,920. Patented Dec. l3, I898. J E. STDTT.

CHAIN WINDING 0R UNWINDING DEVICE.

(Application med Sept. 20, 1897.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet I.

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N0. 6l5.920. Patented Dec. l3, I898. J. E. STOTT.-

CHAIN WINDING 0R UNWINDING DEVICE.

(Application filed Sept. 20, 1897.) (NoModeL) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

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.ing or Unwinding Devices, of which the foldevice being preferably carried for revolu- NITED STATES PATENT Crrrcn.

JOHN E. STOTT, OF IVINDSOR LOCKS, CONNECTICUT.

CHAIN WINDING OR UNWINDING DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 615,920, dated December 13, 1898.

Application filed September 20, 1897 $erialNo.652,222. (No model.)

T 0 all whmn it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN E. Srorr, a citizen of the United States, residing in Windsor Looks, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Chain'Win dlowing is a specification.

This invention relates to winding and unwinding devices especially adapted for wrapping and unwrapping yarn chains formed by the warp-yarns in warping-machines; and it has for its main object the provision of an improved device by means of which a thread or cord may be wound accurately and evenly upon and around a chain of warp-yarns or other similar collection of strands and subsequently unwound therefrom and rewound upon a suitable thread-receiver or spool and thus saved for other similar operations.

One of the main features of the device that I employ for winding and unwinding a thread or cord in the manner just described is afiier supported to revolve around a tubular guide through which the chain passes, this flier having its longitudinal axis parallel with that of the tubular guide and being adapted to carry a winding thread or cord over a thread-guide supported to revolve in unison therewith and maintain the thread at all times in a substantially constant relation with respect to the yarn chain on which it is wound or from which it is unwound. This fiier is also constructed to receive a suitable threadholder or spool,which,while revolving around the tubular chain-guide with its longitudinal axis parallel with that of said guide, may also rotate about said axis to pay out and take A tension device is also employed in connection with the thread-holder, this tension tion in unison with said thread-holder and being located in such a position and being so constructed as to permit the thread to be wrapped securely around the chain and afterward, when unwound, rewound tightly upon its holder or spool.

When my improved device is employed for the purpose of unwinding the wrapping thread or cord from the yarn ohain,the threadholder should be rotated positively during its revolution around the tubular chain-guide, in order that the thread may be laid properly upon the holder or spool, and, moreover, a traveling thread-guide should be employed which will traverse a path substantially the length of the spindle of the spool or holder and at such a rate as will permit the thread to be rewound evenly and smoothly while sufficient tension is maintained thereon by the positive driving connections to the spool, the tension device acting at this time, of course, to permit the spool to slip in case an undue strain is brought upon the thread.

Thetraveling thread-guide may be coning part of this specification, Figure 1 is a plan of the delivery end of a warping-machine, illustrating my improved winding device applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same with parts removed in order to illustrate the construction more clearly. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail illustrating my invention, in side elevation, adapted for use as an unwinding device. Fig. 4. is an enlarged end view of the same looking from the right in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the unwinding device shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail illustrating my invention, in side elevation, adapted for use as a winding device for wrapping a thread or cord around a yarn chain.

Similar characters designate like parts in all the figures of the drawings.

In the drawings of my present application my improved winding and unwinding device is illustrated in connection with the delivery end of a warping-machine of well-known construction, only so much. of the machine being shown as is necessary to illustrate the construction and operation of my present invention as applied thereto and used therewith.

2 2 designate the lower side frames or beams at the delivery end of the machine, and 3 3 uprights or standards bolted thereto and rising therefrom, these standards being firmly connected in the usual manner, as by means of a tie-rod 5. The beams 52 2 have rising therefrom suitable arms or brackets for the reception of the usual guide-rolls 6 and 7, between which are the combs 3 and 8 of wellknown construction.

In the rear of the guide-roll 7 is a third guide-roll 9, over which the warp-yarns pass around a cylinder 10, supported in bearings at the lower ends of the standards 3 and 3, the warp-yarns passing thence around guiderolls 12 and 13 to a large roller 14, journaled at the upper ends of said standards, over which roller the yarns pass to a vertical guideroll 15, at which they are gathered, and then directed to a tubular guide 20, in which the yarns are formed, substantially in the usual manner, into a chain.

The tubular guide 20, which forms part of the winding and unwinding device, will usually be fixedly supported on the framework in some suitable manner-as, for instance, on the bracket or arm 25, secured to a plate-beam 18, bolted to a pair of corresponding beams 16 and 17, which in turn are bolted to the standards 3 and 3. The outer free end of the member 18 is supported by means of a brace or strut rod 19. These several platebeams and the strut-rod constitute an auxiliary frame, on which the several parts of the winding and unwinding device are mounted for operation.

The guide-roll 15, previously referred to, is supported for rotation in a bracket 26, carried by an arched frame-piece 27, bolted to the beam 18, so as to provide a space through which the warp-yarns may pass to the guideroll 15.

As is customary in warping-machines, the roller 14 is driven by the yarn chain and constitutes a driving member for actuating the winding and unwinding device. In the present case a power-transmitting belt 28 passes around a pulley 14 on the shaft of the roller 14 and is carried around a pair of guide-pul leys 29 29, supported on a vertical spindle 30, rising from a bracket or arm 31, fixed on the brace-rod 19. From these guide-rolls the belt 28 passes at an obtuse angle to a driving member or pulley 32, by means of which the windingand unwinding device is actuated, this driving-pulley and the other operative parts of the winding and unwinding device being preferably disposed at such an angle to the warping-machine as will permit the yarn chain to be carried off to one side of said machine.

The winding and unwinding devices are illustrated in detail in Figs. 3 to 6, inclusive, and in each of these it will be seen that the tubular chain-guide 20 is clamped in place by a bolt 25" passing through ears of the divided collar 25 of the bracket 25. Moreover, this tubular guide has a peripheral journal-surface, on which the driving member or pulley 32 15 mounted for rotation, so that its axis of movement will be coincident with the longitudinal axis of said tubular guide.

As is usual, the thread which is to be wrapped around the yarn chain is carried by a flier revoluble around said chain, and the flier, which forms one of the main features of my invention, is mounted on this driving member in such a manner that as it revolves around the yarn chain its longitudinal axis will be parallel with that of the tubular guide 20, through which the chain passes and by which it is formed. This flier is especially adapted and intended to carry' the threadholder or spool from which the wrappingthread is usually paid out and onto which said thread may afterward be wound. Said flier may be of any suitable construction; but in the preferred form thereof illustrated in the drawings it embodies two main members, one of which may be a fixed rod or spindle 35, secured to the pulley 32, while the other member is in the nature of a longitudinallybored spindle or sleeve 36, mounted 011 the flier-spindle 35. The tubular spindle 36 is mounted in the manner specified in order that it may rotate freely on The flier-spindle 35, it being held in place in some suitable manner-as, for instance, between the cheeks of a stop member or washer 37 and a nut 38, the latter of which is mounted on the reduced threaded end of the flier-spindle 35. The outer end of the tubular spindle 36 is also preferably screw-threaded to receive a stopnut 39 and a check-nut 40, by means of which the position of a thread-holder by which the wrapping-thread is carried may be determined. This thread-holder, which is designated herein by 45, will usually be in the nature of a spool loosely supported on the tubular spindle 36, so as to turn freely there on, and in order that the thread that is paid out from the spool in wrapping the chain or which is rewound thereon when the chain is unwrapped may be properly tensioned I employ in connection therewith a suitable tension device. This tension device may be of any suitable construction and may be carried in any desired manner; but preferably it is mounted on the flier and embodies as its essential features a yielding member or spring and means for adjusting the same. The yielding member is shown at 46 and is in the nature of a resilient annular cap encircling the tubular spindle 36, while the nut 39 constitutes an adjusting device for regulating the tension of the cap 46, the check-nut serving to maintain any desired tension by preventing the working loose of the nut 39.

The construction thatI have just described is adapted more particularly for use in connection with the rewinding of the wrappingthread when the latter is unwound from the chain, and while it will be seen that said construction might be modified if used only for supporting a thread-holder or spool during the winding of the wrapping-thread around the chain, yet it is desirable that as few ICC changes as possible be made in the mechanism when it is converted from a winding to an unwinding device, or vice versa.

In Fig. 6 the tubular spindle 36 has at the inner end thereof a plain stop rim or flange, (designated herein by 36,) while in Figs. 3, 4, and 5 a spur-pinion 36 is shown at the inner end of said spindle. This difference in the construction is necessary for the reason that in winding the wrapping-thread around the chain it is not necessary that the tubular spindle and the thread-holder or spool be rotated positively, while it will be apparent that when the wrapping-thread is rewound onto the spool the latter must be rotated positively in order that the thread may be wound tightly and evenly thereon.

In Fig. 6 I have shown at 50 a thread-guide, by means of which the thread is directed onto the warp-chain issuing from the end of the tubular guide 20. This thread-guidamay be of any suitable construction and will be carried by the rotary driving member 32 for movement in unison therewith, so that it will revolve in fixed relation with the revolving flier. Said thread-guide 50 has two eyes 50' and 50, through which the thread is passed, the latter of said eyes directing the thread onto the chain at the desired angle, which by this construction will always be maintained practically constant and unchanged-a very important consideration in the operation of a chain-winding device. It will be noticed in this view that the nuts by which the several parts of the flier, and also the spool, are ad justed are loosened up in order to permit the parts to turn freely.

In Figs. 3, 4, and 5 I have illustrated in detail the construction of the unwinding device. In these views the resilient member 46 of the tension device engages the spool and exerts a proper tension upon the thread, while the tubular spindle 36 has a spur-pinion 36 thereon in order that the spool may be positively rotated.

As the flier and the spool revolve around the fixed tubular guide 20, it will be obvious, of course, that the spool may be rotated by a fixed resistance-gear supported in any suitable manneras, for instance, by means of a resistance-gear 51 integral with the tubular guide 20. This driving-gear 51 meshes with the pinion 36 and forms a positive driving means for the flier and the spool. It should be noted here that the term gear includes not onlyatoothed-gear, but also a smooth face or frictional driving-gear.

For the purpose of laying the thread properly on the spindle of the spool 45 as said thread is unwound from the chain and rewound onto the holder I may employ in connection with the flier a traveling guide adapted to move back and forth in a path substantially the length of the spindle of the spool, so as to permit the thread to be wound evenly coil by coil. This traveling guide is mounted in the present case on a guide-rod 52, which is preferably fixed to the driving member 32 and is parallel with the longitudinal axis of the tubular guide 20, and hence with'the axis of rotation of the flier. Both ends of the guide-rod 52 are preferably screw-threaded, the outer end being screwed into an end plate 53, constructed to support a traverse-guide in the form of a guide-roll, such as 54, by means of which traveling movements are imparted to the traveling guide. This guideroll is supported for rotation on a spindle 55, one end of which is fixed to the rotary driving member 32, While the other end is mounted in the end plate 53, this spindle being also parallel with the guide-rod 52 and preferably having its end screw-threaded in the manner just described.

A milled adjusting-nut is shown at 56 for the purpose of maintaining the guide-roll and the other parts of this guide device in their proper positions, while permitting said guideroll to rotate freely.

The guide-roll 54 is spirally grooved, preferably by means of two opposite spirals, which connect at their ends, and thereby form a continuous guideway, the'two spirals being designated by 54 and 54", respectively.

The traveling guide is intended to be controlled in its movements by the walls of these grooves in the traverse-guide 54 and may be of any suitable construction so long as it is capable of operation in the manner previously described. This traveling guide is designated in a general way by g and in this instance comprises a sleeve or collar 57, mounted on the guide-rod 52 and having a projection 57 of any suitable kind adapted to follow the groove in the guide-roll 54 as the latter rotates.

Some suitable thread-guide similar to that shown at may be employed for engaging the thread. Such a guide is shown at 58 and has preferably a single coil, through which the thread 25 passes as it is unwound from the chain. In one direction the movement of the traveling guide g is limited by the end plate 53 of the guide device, its movement in the opposite direction being controlled by a stop 59, it being noticed that as the guide-roll 54 rotates its oppositely-running grooves will form a continuous channel and will permit the automatic reversal of the direction of movement of the traveling guide g when it reaches the respective stops 53 and 59.

In order that the guide-roll 54 may be rotated positively, I have illustrated at 60 a driving-belt, which passes around the tubular guide 20 and works in a peripheral groove thereof, while the inner end of the guide-roll 54 is also grooved peripherally, as shown at 54, to receive said belt. It will be clear that as the guide-roll revolves around the tubular guide the belt 60 will cause said guide-roll to rotate, and thereby impart the proper traveling movement to the guide 58.

In winding the yarn chain the latter of course moves to the right, as seen in Fig. 6

and as shown by the arrow therein, and the flier and the thread-guide revolve in a corresponding manner, While in unwinding the Wrapping-thread on the chain, after the latter has passed through the stages of dyeing, doubling, &c., said chain moves in the opposite direction, as shown by the arrow in Fig. 3, and the flier and the thread-guide revolve in a direction opposite to that in which they travel during the Winding operation.

Having described my invention, I claim 1. In a device of the class specified, the combination, with a fixed tubular guidehavinga journal-surface, of a rotary driving member journaled on said guide; a flier-spindle .se cured at one of its ends to the driving memher and unsupported at its opposite end and having its longitudinal axis parallel with that of the tubular guide; a tubular thread-holder mounted for rotation on the flier-spindle; means at the free end of the flier-spindle for securing the thread-holder in position on said flier-spindle; a drivingear; and a pinion carried by the thread-holder and in mesh with the driving-gear.

2. In a device of the class specified, the combination, with a fixed tubular guide havinga journal-surface, of a rotary driving member journaled on said guide; a flier-spindle secured at one of its ends to the driving memher and unsupported at its opposite end and having its longitudinal axis parallel with that of the tubular guide; a tubular thread-holder mounted for rotation on the flier-spindle; means at the free end of the flier-spindle for securing the thread-holder in position on said flier-spindle; a resistance driving-gear secured to the tubular guide; and a pinion secured to the thread-holder and in mesh with the resistance driving-gear.

JOHN E. STOTT.

\Vitnesses:

FRED. J. DOLE, HEATH SUTHERLAND. 

